The Ys series is back again with a brand-new entry featuring the famous red-haired adventurer Adol.

Falcom announced Ys X: Nordics would be coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch a couple of weeks ago. Until recently, we did not have much information about the game, but that has changed with the latest issue of Famitsu magazine (via Gematsu).

Falcom President Toshihiro Kondo shared more about the upcoming action RPG game. Here’s what we know: 

• The “Nordics” in the title is a term that means “people of the north”.
• The game takes place after the events of Ys I and II. Adol is 17 years old and on his way to Celceta.
• Dr. Flair Rall from Ys II is travelling with you.
• Characters in this prequel are younger to cater to a new demographic since it’s coming out for Nintendo Switch as well.
• There are only two playable characters (Adol and the axe girl). Kondo assured that the action is dense and there are all sorts of things you can do.
• The game will have towns, but your main hub is your ship.

• “Solo Mode offers the usual high-speed battles [of the Ys series]. Combination Mode lets you pull off more powerful attacks, but the overall speed of battle is slower so you can fight more carefully. (The speed only changes on Adol’s side.) You can only switch to Combination Mode when holding down a certain button, and it switches back to Solo Mode when said button is released.”
• “Defense carries major weight. Guarding builds up your Revenge Gauge, which can increase your attack power.”
• “We’ve taken considerable care to adjust the difficulty level so that a wide range of users can enjoy the game.”
• “There are special actions called ‘Mana Actions.’ There’s more freedom when performing mid-air actions.”
• “About 20 percent of the game is sailing your ship. There are maps dedicated to ship and naval battles that occur when you encounter enemies. There is also a growth (i.e. character development) element to the ship.”
• Kondo said he will release new gameplay footage of the game either in the New Year or in Spring 2023.
• He hopes to release the game “around the same time as usual”, which is September 2023 or so.
• Kondo is quite aware of the challenge his team is undertaking in the new field which is the Nintendo Switch hardware. “Production is currently underway with the intention of making a game that both series newcomers and fans alike can enjoy”.

Ys X: Nordics will launch in Japan for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 in 2023. Find out more on their official website.